Pumpkin Soup

Today (31st October) is Halloween – originally Hallows Even, the evening before All Saints Day – and the shops are overflowing with pumpkins. Most people carve them into lanterns then throw them away. That’s a shame because there’s nothing easier to make than tasty pumpkin soup. The hardest part is cutting up your pumpkin so I enlisted the more muscular arm of my husband for that bit.

Ingredients

• 1 x 2½ – 3lb pumpkin (small)
• ¾ pint of stock
• salt, pepper, fresh thyme and parsley
• 1 x tin mixed beans (eg kidney beans, haricot beans)
• 1 x ½ pt tin of coconut milk

Method

1. Chop the pumpkin flesh into cubes, discarding the skin but keeping the seeds. This is a tough job!
2. Put in a large saucepan with the stock and seasoning.
3. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the beans and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
5. Take off heat. Blend. Stir in the coconut milk.

I used a large pumpkin which cost 75p. Add one stock cube 7p, 2x tins of mixed beans £1, a tin of coconut milk £1, a couple of teaspoons of paprika 8p, some thyme (free from the garden but call it 5p), Total £2.95 for about 15 portions (too much to measure easily!)  for around 20p a bowl.

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Serve like to serve it with roasted seeds on top and some cream and cheeses or salami on the side.

 

Seeds

I saved the seeds too. Some I soaked and dried and am eating raw. Others I roasted.  Here’s how.

When you get to step 3, rinse the seeds in a sieve and remove all the stringy bits. You can eat these raw, sprout them, or boil them for 10 minutes in salted water, then roast on a tray with coconut oil and salt for 18 minutes at 165 C, stirring a couple of times.

 

Shopping List for Recipes

People have been snapping up my recipes like hot cakes when I’ve had a stand at events. And with a whole week of delicious main meals for £10.50 a head it’s no wonder  Here’s a list of the 7 and an extra.

1. Pasta with salmon sauce £1.60

2. One pot chicken £1.84

3. Spag bol £1.46

4. Liver and onion £0.81

5. Pork Stroganoff £1.87

6. Pork in mushroom and cream sauce £1.65

7. Leek and mushroom tagliatelle £1.27

Plus a bit of luxury

8. Pea and Chorizo risotto with Sea Bass £2.37

I was asked to put together a shopping list for the week and here it is!

I’ve used a limited palate of flavours to make your shopping complement more than one meal. Start by checking what you already have in your house. You can use things you’ve got instead of the ingredients listed so nothing is wasted. Add things to your shopping list that you need to buy.

If you’re new to cooking, break yourself in gently rather than stocking your cupboards with staple ingredients all in one go. Many of these ingredients keep for ages and will be enough for lots of meals once you have them.

Things to Keep in Stock in Your:

Cupboards

Brown Rice

Pasta

Stock cubes or bouillon powder

Tinned tomatoes (need 1 plus 3 for bolognaise if you make the big batch)

Tomato puree

Cornflour

Dried herbs – parsley, oregano or whatever you prefer

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Vinegar – white wine, balsamic or apple cider

Wholegrain mustard

Pantry

Sadly we tend not to have pantries now but garage or shed works well for long-lasting fresh ingredients that like a cool, dark place.

Onions – why not buy a bag of small wonky ones?

Potatoes – these last for weeks if kept in paper rather than plastic, in a cool dark place. We have a farm nearby that sells a big sack for £6 which we eat from October until March. Find out if you have one near you; it’s much cheaper than the supermarket.

Tip – Onions and potatoes last longer if not kept close together.

Fridge

Butter

Milk

Natural yoghurt

Lemon juice

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Shopping list for the week

Buy for the week’s recipes for 2 people:

Fresh produce – the part of the supermarket to spend most time

1 x lettuce or a cabbage

(Ready chopped salad leaves are very expensive and have been washed in chemicals and packed in an artificial atmosphere. They start to wilt as soon as you open the bag and a couple of days later, whatever is left is getting mushy and smells bad. Whole lettuces last much better. Keep them in the veg drawer at the bottom of the fridge so they don’t get too cold. Cabbage is very versatile. You can shred it finely for salad or steam it for veg. It lasts longer than lettuce, has more nutrients and is cheaper.)

1 x bag of spinach

(Better to buy this later on for recipe 6, then use it as salad leaves or steam briefly as veg.)

4 x carrots

8 x radishes

12 cherry or baby plum tomatoes

1 x bulb of garlic

(Try growing your own. Plant a clove or two from the bulb you buy, between September and December. Harvest in July.)

New potatoes for 2 people

1 x lemon or a bottle of juice

500g mushrooms

1 x large or 2 x small leeks

 

Cold Section – better still to get meat from a good butcher

1 x tub double cream

4 x chicken thighs

2 x pork steaks

1 x pork tenderloin

1500g of beef mince to make the whole 16 portion batch or 200g to make just for 2 people.

300 g of liver

1 pack salami milano

Fresh herbs – parsley, dill (buy them fresh and freeze in bags or containers)

Parmesan (buy it fresh, grate and freeze in containers)

Frozen peas

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Dry / tinned

1 x 213g tin of pink salmon (healthiest with bones – buy in brine, not oil)

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For the luxury recipe of the pea and chorizo risotto with sea bass add:

2 x very small sea bass fillets

2 x blobs of chorizo

Risotto rice

You don’t need to go down the ready meal aisles at all so you save time as well as money when you shop.

Enjoy your cooking, enjoy your food, enjoy better health when you give up processed food!

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